English Premier League Team of the Month September 2016

Team of the Month is one of the most popular features on The Mastermind. We know you love it, so get psyched for another edition of it right now. This is the team of the month for September 2016 in the Barclays Premier League.

Swansea City haven’t had a brilliant month this September but one man that has been very good has been Polish goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski. The 31-year old made the team of the week in Matchday 4 for his five-save display against Chelsea and then followed that up with an arguably even better four-save performance against Southampton in Matchday 5. Although Swansea end September without a single win, no goalkeeper stood out more this month than Lukasz Fabianski. Rating: 8/10.

Seamus Coleman has been fantastic this month since coming back from injury and has been one of Ronald Koeman’s best players as Everton continue to fly high in the league. The Irishman wasn’t guaranteed to steal a place in the side away from young Englishman Mason Holgate who had done well in the side as his replacement in August, but at the start of the month, he came straight into the side and looked like he had never been injured in the first place. Seamus Coleman is now in the kind of form that he showed in Roberto Martinez’s first season as manager and if he keeps up like this, he will be one of Everton’s most important players as they challenge for European football. Rating: 8.5/10.

Arsenal really struggled in August without a real leader in their back-line but since Laurent Koscielny has become fit again the Gunners have been practically unbeatable and in fact went unbeaten in September. Koscielny has been at the heart of everything good for Arsenal this month, leading them to three convincing victories and forming a formidable partnership with Shokdran Mustafi. On top of scoring a very nice goal against Southampton, the French defender was also excellent in shutting down a potent Chelsea attack and captaining his side to a surprising 3-0 win over the Blues. Koscielny has had a great month and with him in the team, the Gunners look twice as good and twice as likely to win. Rating: 8/10.

It feels a bit crazy to put James Milner as the best left-back of the month but with the way Liverpool are going and with the way the versatile midfielder has stuck to his task and hardly ever been caught out defensively, there was no other option. James Milner has had a brilliant month just like the rest of the Liverpool team and hit top form against Hull City in the Reds’ smashing 5-1 victory in which he scored two penalties and was a constant threat going forward, whipping in ten crosses. He was also brilliant in Liverpool’s 4-1 win against Leicester, assisting a goal and never allowing Riyad Mahrez any room to work with. James Milner is not a left-back by any means but has done very well at the task so far and has looked like Liverpool’s most solid defender to start this season. Rating: 8.5/10.

I was often harsh on Adam Lallana last season and didn’t really feel as though he did enough in 2015-16 to warrant a place in England’s Euro 2016 squad. However, this season he has been on another planet and has been so good that he is quickly becoming one of my favourite footballers. Lallana had a stunning month of action in the Barclays Premier League this September, scoring two goals and assisting another two as Liverpool waltzed to three straight victories. The English midfielder just looks full of confidence at the moment and his ambidexterity and ability to dribble past any opponent has made him into one of Liverpool’s most important musicians in Jurgen Klopp’s orchestra of wonderfulness. Rating: 10/10.

When this man is in possession of the ball, there is no stopping him. Sadio Mane has the ability to dribble past any defender and his performances in September have been magnificent and have illustrated this fact to a tee. The Senegalse midfielder has been integral to Liverpool’s success this month, scoring two goals and an assist and picking up the Player of the Week award for Matchday 4. The Liverpool winger also won 12 take-on’s and created 7 chances in September helping Liverpool dominate every single match they played in. Sadio Mane is certainly on the rise and is becoming known around the league as one of the most dangerous players to come up against. Rating: 9.5/10.

Kevin de Bruyne was unbelievably good this month and was Manchester City’s key man in every single game they played in. He was stellar in running the show against Manchester United and served as the main reason why his side were able to get the win over the Red Devils, scoring a goal and hitting the post twice. He then dominated the match again against Bournemouth with a goal and an assist to win the Player of the Week award and inspire Manchester City to a massive 4-0 win. Finally, in the last match of the month he assisted another goal leading City to a 3-1 win over stragglers Swansea City. Kevin de Bruyne was absolutely unreal this month and with his stellar performances he has established himself as one of the best if not the best player in the Premier League. Rating: 10/10.

Attacking Midfield: Dimitri Payet

Team of the Week Appearances: 1
3 appearances, 3 assists and one penalty won (direct contribution to all four goals West Ham scored this month), 14 chances created, 11 successful dribbles.

Just narrowly beating out Philippe Coutinho in the Team of the Month is Dimitri Payet who has managed to maintain excellent form since returning from injury despite everyone else in the West Ham team around him (minus Antonio) completely failing to get any kind of momentum going for the Hammers. He has been absolutely integral to the Hammers this month and even though they haven’t won a single match this month, they would have been so much further off the pace had it not been for the Frenchman. Payet notched two assists in the first game of the month in a 4-2 defeat against Watford, and then notched two more assists (albeit one of them an unofficial penalty win) as the Hammers slumped to a 4-2 defeat against Watford. In both of these matches, the only two goals that West Ham scored were created by the Frenchman and although he couldn’t manage the same feat against Southampton, his performances in his other two matches were enough to carry him in to the Team of the Month. Rating: 9/10.

Heung-Min Son has been incredible this month and has turned his role in Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham completely around with three more-than impressive displays. Since the start of September, the South Korean international has stolen a spot away from Erik Lamela in the side and has gone on to score the same amount of goals this month (4) than he managed all of last season. In this time he was runner up for Player of the Week twice and practically single-handedly led Spurs to two of their victories. The South Korean international has been brilliant this month and his performances might have just solidified his place in Mauricio Pochettino’s side for the long term. Rating: 9.5/10.

I’ve never been overly impressed with Alexis Sanchez as a centre forward until now. But, the Chilean midfielder showed exactly why he could be the centre forward that Arsene Wenger has been looking for, with four stunning displays in September. He was a bit of a non-factor against Southampton but was anything but in his other two Premier League matches and in Arsenal’s 1-1 draw against Paris Saint Germain and 2-0 win against SC Basel in the UEFA Champions League. In the Premier League this month, Sanchez has netted three goals and an assist, helping Arsenal crush Chelsea 3-0 and clobber Hull City 4-1. Sanchez may not be the answer long term for Arsenal up front but at the moment there is no stopping him. Rating: 9.5/10.

Capping off our Team of the Month for September is the man who netted more goals than anyone in the league, Romelu Lukaku. The Belgian striker started the season off slowly and didn’t score for the entire month of August but then against Sunderland a fire-lit underneath him and he has since had the golden touch in front of goal. Lukaku bagged 5 goals with 1 assist in 4 matches this month, helping lead Everton to two victories out of three as they continue to look like one of the prime contenders for European football. The Belgian striker just has an eye for goal like few others in the league and when he is in this kind of form no defender in the league can cope with him. Rating: 9.5/10.

The Belgian midfielder has just been so highly impressive this month, doing the simple things and the hard things to help lead Manchester City to three massive victories. His back to back performances against Manchester United and Bournemouth are probably better than anyone has mentioned this season so far and he is absolutely flourishing under Pep Guardiola. Kevin De Bruyne is one of the ten best footballers in the world at the moment for my money and is the Player of the Month!

Runners Up: Adam Lallana and Heung-Min Son

Manager of the Month: Jurgen Klopp

Liverpool have been unbelievably good in September and the way in which they have battered and bruised their opposition so many times on a consistent basis can’t possibly just be down to how good this crop of players is. The man behind the scenes yet undoubtedly at the forefront of evertyhing, Jurgen Klopp, is hitting all the right notes at the moment and with victories such as a 4-1 win against Leicester, a 2-1 against Chelsea and a massive 5-1 victory against Hull, the Reds are now even beginning to look like contenders for the title. The players are all buying into what he’s selling and are showing it on the pitch, working together as a collective unit to win every game. What he’s done with players like Lallana, Wijnaldum and Milner this month and the way he’s managed to transform every Liverpool player to a different level this season elucidate how brilliant he is at man-management and getting the best out of every single player on his team. Rating: 20/20 (unlike his vision).

So there it is! The Barclays Premier League Team of the Month for September in the 2016-17 season. The Premier League has been highly entertaining as always ever since it began in August and is showing no signs of slowing down, so you better click the follow button for a never-ending selection of more articles like this. See you next time! 🙂